Means for thermally toughening glass



Jan. 17, 1939. J. BAILEY MEANS FOR THERMALLY TOUGHENING GLASS Filed Feb. 25, 1936 INVEN TOR AT-romffs Patented Jan. 17, 1939 2,144,32 MEANS FOR THERMALLY TUGHENING 'GLASS James Bailey, Hamburg, N. Y., assignor to Bailey l & Sharpo., Ine., Hamburg, N. Y. Application February 25, 1936, Serial No. 65,655

2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for heating and treating sheet glass and relatively flat glass articles, and particularly to thermally toughening the glass.

The method of thermally toughening glass by first heating it to a temperature at which it is somewhat plastic and then suddenly chilling the surface is old `in theart. The procedure commonly used is to first heat the entire glass article to a suiiiciently high temperature, said temperature being substantially uniform throughout the glass body. The glass article is then quickly removed from the hot zone and suddenly chilled either by dumping it into a tank of warmed oil or by rapidly cooling the surface with blasts of cool air. In either of these methods, the chilling is done as rapidly and as uniformly as `possible over `the entire surface of the glass, except that certain precautions are sometimes taken to prevent over-chilling of the edges. i

'I'he system which I employ and which is the subject of this invention differs from the foregoing in that it applies to sheet glass only or to glass articles which are much longer and broader than they are high and hence take the form of sheets. Thus al1 forms of ribbed and corrugated sheet glass and shallow trays are subject to treatment by my method and in my apparatus, while tumblers, bottles and jars would be excluded. An object of the invention is to provide an improved and continuous method for `thermally toughening glass.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved inethod of thermally toughening glass, which may be easily practiced after the glass has been cut to the desired size, with which the handling of the glass during treatment will be smplied, with which the loss through breakage and other defects will be reduced to a minimum, and which will be relatively rapid, simple and inexpensive. o

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus for thermally toughening glass, with which the glass in slabs, sheetsor rela.. tively flat articles of different sizes may be eiliciently and continuously treated and toughened with a minimum of deformity in the treated slabs or articles, which will be relatively compact, simple and inexpensive, so as to be available at a low apparent from the following description of several cost to dealers in fiat glassware, which will be exembodiments and examples ot the invention.,y and the novel features will be particularly pointed tout? hereinafter in connection with the appended claims. In the accompanying drawing: Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation,'somewhat i. diagrammatically, of an apparatus constructedfinai. accordance with this invention and illustrating one embodiment or example thereof; s r:

Flg. 2 is a sectional elevation ofI the same,v.:the m section being taken approximately along the line 2--2 of Fig, 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan of a portion of the rolle sfior supporting the plastic glass during the sudden zololing operation and conveying it away from the e r; I ,Iy'ffi Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of the exituendoiiw a lehr, and illustrating a slight modificationlot the same, particularly as to the means Vfor keeping the exit opening approximately closdexcept while glass slabs or articles are being discharged; Fig. 5 is a similar sectional elevation of the exit end of the lehr, but illustrating a still vfur-ther" modification of .the curtain means for normally closing the exit opening; Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional elevation off-the same; and j www: Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation of the discharg"` end `of a lehr, and illustrating still another-embodiment of the curtain or means that normal closes the exit opening of the lehr. j In the embodiment of the invention illustrated particularly in Figs. 1 to 3, the lehr I0 is provided with an oven or heating chamber I I, an entrance opening I2 at one end thereof and an exitopening I3 at the opposite end thereof. A stack ;I4 having therein an adjustable controllingdampen@l `I5 of any suitable construction extends upwardly from the heating chamber II at a point asclose as possible to the exit opening I3. A plurality of cylindrical rollers I6 which are siowlynrotated in the same direction about their axes by a-suitl able driving mechanism, not shown, are arranged across the interior of the oven or heatingphamber II and for a short distance in frontlof the lehr, so as to receive slabs or article Afohiglass to be treated and convey them progres' vA though the lehr from entrance opening I2 opening I3. ja

The rollers I6 are spaced apart so tha slabs or articles conveyed by the rollersf` exposed on both faces during their travel the lehr. As illustrated in Fig. l, the glass A are conveyed progressively and continuously at an approximately uniform speed, in an edgewise 5! ldirection through the chamber II andare discharged 'through the exit opening I8. These rollers I6 are preferably relatively small in diameter, and are so located that their top surfaces lie in a common plane.

The oven or heating chamber II is heated in any suitable manner. but preferably in sones of progressively increasing temperature from the entrance opening I2 toward the exit opening I3. For example, electrical resistance heaters or units I1 are arranged along the top and bottom walls of the oven or chamber I I. which the slabs A are progressively exposed in their travel through the lehr, are preferably of increasing intensity toward the .exit opening I3 for the reason that the slabs of glass entering the lehr may break if suddenly subjected to too intense a heat. This variation in temperature may be obtained by controlling or regulating the cur-k rent in the heating units, or by varying the spacing of the units. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention this variation in intensity is obtained by suitable variation in the spacing of the resistance heating units I l, spaced progressively closer together towards the exit end I3 of the oven or chamber II.

With such a spacing of the heating units II both above and below the travelling slabs of glass, zones of progressively increasing temperature in oven II will be established, each of said V zones extending at right angles to the direction exit opening I3, it will immediately of movement of the slabs. With such an arrangement the initial heat at the entrance end of the chamber II is not great enough to rupture, crack or shatter the entering glass, but with selection of proper speed of travel of the lslabs o1' glass and with the temperature increasing towards the exit end. the temperature of the articles or slabs will be gradually and progressively increased until the slabs of glass are slightly plastic as they reach the exit end of the chamber.

Each sheet or slab of glass undergoing treatment will remain substantially flat, even though it is slightly plastic, owing to the multiple and changing support of the rollers. 'Ihe damper I5 is so regulated that there is a slight movement of the air through the oven or chamber II towards the stack, which aids in maintaining the difference in the temperature zones in the chamber II withoutthe necessity of partitions, and it prevents the entrance of any substantial quantity of .told air into the heating chamber at either end. If any cold air should enter the oven through the pass up the stack before having any substantial effect on the slab, and if cold air enters through opening I2, it does not materially affect the glass because the glass is only being initially heated at that end of the oven. Arranged in a row exteriorly of the lehr, and beginning adjacent to the exit opening I3, is another series of rollers I8 which are also slowly driven in the same direction from any suitable source of power, so as to receive slabs or articles of glass from the exitopening I3 of the lehr as delivered through that opening by the rollers I6.

The upper surfacesof the rollers I3 are in a common plane which is a continuation of the plane of the upper surfaces of the rollers I6. The rollers I I, insteadof being cylindrical like the rollers I6, are preferably made up of a series of comparatively thin disks II of relatively large diameter, separated by thick spacers 2l oi' smaller diameter. as shown particularly in Fig. 3. The

The temperatures. to'

such units being large diameter disks preferably have rounded or somewhat V-shaped perpiheral edges which provide substantial line contact with the slabs or articles and thus permit free circulation of air next to the under face of the glass. so as to oder little interference with the cooling of the under face of the slab leaving the lehr. I also prefer to displace the disks laterally on ea'ch succeeding roller, progressing in the direction of travel of the slab, in such a manner that no two of the disks havea common line of contact on the moving glass while the glass is in the chilling zone, as shown particularly in Fig. 3.

Partitions 2l are disposed above and below the path of the slabs, closely adjacent to the exit opening I3. Headers 22 are disposed above and below the travelling glass slabs leaving the lehr and supply blasts of cooling air, preferably at a relatively high velocity, simultaneously to the upper and lower faces of the slightly plastic glass slabs leaving the exit opening I3. These headers deliver the cooling air through orifices 23, which are preferably slot-like and are directed at an inclination to the outer faces of the partitions 2I and also to the faces of the slabs leaving the lehr, as shown particularly in Fig. 1. In other words, the nozzles or orifices 23 deliver the blasts of air directly towards the exit opening I3 except that such blasts are deflected toward the slab by the partions 2l. The slot-like orifices discharge sheet-like, well-defined currents oi' air.

In order to avoid any danger of such cooling air entering the lehr through the exit opening I3 to any appreciable extent, the edges of the partitions 2I which run along the faces of the slabs leaving the exit openings, at their outer faces are curved or flanged in the direction of travel of the slabs, so as to form toes that deflect the air striking the slabs on opposite faces thereof, somewhat in the direction of travel of the slabs and thus very little, if any, of the cooling air will pass along the faces of the slabs in a direction to enter the lehr through the exit opening I3. Instead, the currents of air delivered by the nozzles 23 will cover the entire faces of the slabs and travel in the direction of travel of the slabs, so as to produce an abrupt, sudden and intense chilling effect upon the opposite faces of the slabs which leave the lehr in a slightly plastic condition. This tends to harden the surfaces of the slabs somewhat before they reach th rollers I8, and therefore, the latter will not materially mark the slabs being conveyed fthereby. The volume of cooling air delivered by the nozzles 23 may be controlled by suitable valves 2l which are adjusted by screws 2l, Figs. l and 2.

Additional headers 26 are also arranged above and below the rollers I8, somewhat further away from the'lehr, and these headers deliver cooling air, preferably at relatively lower velocities, through nozzles 21 against the upper and lower faces of the slabs carried by the rollers Il, so as to continue the cooling of the slabs until they have approximately reached normal room temperatures. Any number of such headers 26 may be arranged along the path of travel of the slabs, as may be required.

In order to decrease further the possibility of leakage of cold air along the opposite faces of the slabs into the lehr through the exit opening I3, I may also provide curtains 2l and 29, arranged above and below the slabs and in 'contact with the slabs leaving the exit opening I3 between opening I3 and partitions 2|, so as to substantially seal the opening I3, yet yield and allow the slabs to be discharged through the opening I3 upon the rollers I8. In the embodiment ol the invention shown `in Fig. l..thcse curtains 28 and 29 are preferably strips or sheets of iiexible, heat resisting material, such as flexible asbestos sheets or flexible metal strips or sheets, supported so as to normally abut one another along adjacent edges and close the opening I3, but flexible so that slabs leaving the exit opening I3 may ex the free adjacent edges of the curtains laterally and pass by, as shown in Fig. 1. The strips forming the curtains may be so narrow as to act somewhat like a 'brush in that the glass slabs easily push only groups of the strips apart in passing. The curtains 28 and 29 thus provide an `auxiliary seal for opening I3, and the adjacent i proximately room temperatures at the entrance opening I2 of the oven, and yet insure that the `slabs are throughout their thickness, uniformly in a slightly plastic condition as they reach the exit opening I3. The rate of travel of the slabs on the rollers IB and I8 may be adjusted, upon variations Aof the thickness of the slabs or sheets, because the greater the thickness of the slabs, the slower should be the travel of the slabs, to insure that the slabs or sheets of glass will be heated uniformly throughout their thickness to the slightly plastic condition as they reach the exit opening I3. The capacity of the unit may be increased by speeding up the travel of the sheets through the oven, but in this event, the length of he oven and of the chilling zones must be increased in proportion thereto, so that the same relative heat treatment will be maintained. With higher speeds of travel, additional air discharge devices may be required in order to increase the length of the cooling zones. Some variation in the heating elements I1 or current supplied thereto, may also be made to speed up the process, but the heating cannot be too rapid without danger of cracking the glass slabs.

In Fig. 4, a slight modification of the curtains for closing the exit opening I3 is illustrated, In this embodiment of the invention, the curtains 28 and 29 are replaced by a relatively fixed plate 30 supported in a relatively fixed position below the common plane tangent to the upper surfaces of the rollers I6, and with the upper edge of this plate 30 only very slightly below that plane. This plate 30 is bevelled off along its inner face at its upper edge, so that if the forward edge portions of the slightly plastic sheets or slabs of glass should sag or bend slightly downwardly as they leave the last roller I6 in the exist opening I3, they would be cammed upwardly and directed to the space between the partitions 2 I. A movable curtain 3| in the nature of a relatively stift` plate extends above and across the slabs of glass leaving the exit opening I3, and this plate 3l, which also is preferably of heat resisting material, is mounted for vertical sliding movement. The plate 3U is preferably partly counterbalanced by suitable means, such as cables 32 and counter weights 33, so that it will have only a very slightly downward bias or urge, but which is sufficiently normal to carry it downwardly against thc-upper edge oi the xed lower plate 30. The inner face of the plate 3l, at its lower edge, is bevelled so that when .the forward edges of the slabs of glass leaving the exit opening II engage it, it will be cammed upwardly thereby, then will ride lightly upon the pper surface of such sheets or slabs of glass, and then descend to closed position in contact with the upper edge of the lower plate 30 as soon as the sheets or slabs of glass have passed.

In Figs. 5 and 6, a. still further modiilcatlon. of the curtain is illustrated. In this embodiment of the invention, the curtainsare replaced by a series of hinged plates 34 and 35, which are pivoted respectively on common pins 36 and 31. and act somewhat like a plurality oi.' hinged dampers arranged side by side above and below the slabs. The plates 34 are over-balanced, so as to be yleldingly but 'continuously urged into vertical positions in which the upper, free edges of the plates are in the path of the sheetsor `slabs of glass leaving the exit opening I3, movement beyond each position in a. direction toward the exit opening I3 `being limited by a stop pin or rod 38. Similarly the plates are urged or biased by weights so as to swing downwardly into the paths of travel of the sheets or slabs of glass leaving the exit opening I3, such movement being limited by a stop rod 39. When the plates 34 and 35 are swung by their weighted portions until they strike the rods 38 and 39, the adjacent free edges of the plates 34 and 35 will be in approximate contact with one another so as to prevent the travel of cold air from the nozzles 23 through the exit opening I3 into the oven. When a sheet or slab of glass leaves the exit opening I3, its

forward edge will engage and cam apart the plates 34 and 35 with which it engages, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and then after the slab or sheet has passed,` the plates 34 and 35 will drop back into their-substantially engaging positions to prevent the passage of cold air from the nozzles 23 into the oven or chamber I I. Since the sheets or slabs of glass may vary in width, the plates 34 and 35 are freely and separately swingable on their pivots, so that only those plates which are engaged by a slab or sheet of glass at any time will be cammed outwardly and the others will remain in closed positions to prevent the passage of cold air through the exit opening I3 into the oven or chamber Il, as shown clearly in Fig, 6.

-In Fig. 7, still another modification of the curtain is illustrated, in which a relatively fixed lower plate 40 is employed which is similar to plates 2B or 3B. A curtain 4I disposed above the slabs of glass passing through the exit opening I3, is somewhat ilexible and wound partially upon a roller 42 at its upper end, so that by rotating the roller 42, the curtain may be lo wered or raised. The lower edge of the curtain 4I`iiexes outwardly when engaged by an emerging slab or sheet of glass as shown in Fig. 7, the outward swinging of the entire curtain may be prevented by a stop rod 43 disposed a short distance above the lower edge of the curtain as also shown in Fig. "1.

It will be noted that these auxiliary curtains which restrict the entrance of cold air through the exit openings I3 into the oven or chamber I i, automatically accommodateV slabs or sheets of glass of diilerent thicknesses. Various other modifications in said curtains may, of course, be

made.

In the practice of this method and the operation of the illustrated apparatus, the slabs or sheets of glass of the desired nal size, and either enough to prevent the uniform distribution of heat throughout the chamber II and to establish definite zones of gradually increasing temperatures atdifferent points of travel through the oven or chamber II. The slabs or sheets of glass will `thus be heated uniformly throughout their thickness, and progressively from their forward edges to their rear edges in their travel through the oven. As each portion of a slab leaves the exit opening, I3, the temperature of that portion will have been raised throughout its whole thickness until it is slightly plastic. It will be observed that as the forward edge portion of a slab leaves the opening Il, it may be slightly plastic, yet the remainder of the slab which is approaching the opening I3 may not yet have fully reached rthe slightly plastic condition. This heating therefore proceeds progressively from edge to edge of the slab in its travel through the oven or chamber II. As the slightly plastic slab portion emerges through the space between the partitions ZI, it is struck upon both faces thereof simultaneously with a cooling fluid or currents of air from the' nozzles 2l which produce a very sudden chilling of the surfaces of these slabs. These currents of cooling fluid or air are deflected along the slab in the direction of its travel, and maintain this cooling action on both faces of the slabs until such faces pass into the currents of cooling fluid or air, preferably at a lower velocity, delivered by the nozzles 21 also against both faces of the slab. This cooling action is continued until the slabs are cooled approximately to room temperatures, and it will be noted that since the cooling is abrupt and sudden as each slab emerges from the space or opening between the'plates 2|, this sudden cooling proceeds progressively and uniformly across the slab or sheet from edge to edge in the direction opposite to the travel of the slab. Such a treatment will produce a thermally toughened glass'slab or article of high quality, and since the operation is continuous and progressive, the cost of such treatment is relatively small.

Inasmuch as it is impractical to cut slabs of such thermally toughened glass in the usual manner, such slabs are preferably rst cut to the proper size and then passed through this improved treating apparatus, or otherwise treated in accordance with this improved method, in order to thermally toughen the same.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials and steps, which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention, as expressed in the appended claims. It will also be understood that -within the path of travel of the jets I consider glass articles which are longer and broader than their height, or which are relatively nat, such as shallow trays, for example, and all forms of ribbed and corrugated sheets or slabs of glass are subject to treatment in accordance with this invention and are intended to be referred to broadly as equivalents of sheets or slabs in the appended claims.

AI claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus for making thermally toughened glass, the combination of a lehr having entrance and exit openings at opposite ends thereof, means for conveying slabs of glass progressively and without stopping in an edgewise direction through said lehr lfrom entrance opening to exit opening, means arranged at said exit opening for normally closing that opening and operable into open position by the slabs leaving the lehr through the exit opening, means in said lehr for heating the slabs to a temperature at which they are slightly plastic vjust before they leave the lehr, disk-like rollers arranged in rows running across the width of the slabs and disposed at intervals away from said exit opening for receiving slabs from said exit opening and conveying them away, without stopping and at the same speed, the disks of said rollers having peripheries convex in transverse section and being displaced laterally in the rows in a direction away from the exit opening, with each disk out of alignment with the other disks between it and the exit opening, means for directing sheet-like currents of relatively cool air against opposite faces of the slabs leaving the exit opening across their entire widths and at positions in close proximity to the exit opening, the sheet-like currents being directed slightly towards said exit opening, and defiecting means disposed at the exit opening of the lehr in the paths of said currents of air yfor deecting the same along the faces of the slabs in a direction away from the exit opening.

2. Apparatus for making thermally toughened glass which comprises a lehr having an entrance opening at one end and a restricted exit opening at the other end, conveying means for conveying slabs of glass progressively without stopping through said lehr from entrance opening to exit opening, means for conveying the slabs from the exit opening at uniform speed away from that opening without interruption of travel, means for directing currents of cooling air toward said exit opening at opposite faces of each slab leaving that opening and substantially across the entire width of such slabs, defiecting means disposed on opposite faces of and close to such slab leaving said exit opening and close to said opening, of air, for deilecting said jets of air against opposite faces of said slabs close to said exit opening, in directions along the faces of the slabs and away from said exit opening, and means disposed further along the direction of travel of said slabs from said exit opening and directing further currents of cooling air against said slabs.

JAMES BAILEY. 

